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His legs felt like jelly A voice in his head told hi sound in his ears

He tried for a crawling position, before falling to his side and then rolling over on his back He lay that way, staring straight up There was no ref to count hihts up above A perfect square of incandescence with an impenetrably dark section in the center

For a second, the giant stood over Joe, blocking the light But the horn sounded and the bigto finish Joe

“Chivalry isn’t dead after all,” Joe said to himself

As he lay there waiting for the feeling to return to his legs, soht it was his iination, but it hit the deck next to hiainst his ribs

He turned on his side, innate curiosity driving hi it with his fingers, he plucked the object from the floor It was a five-yen coin, with its brassy color and hole in the ood luck

Joe’s spirits soared He looked back up to the rafters just as the bank of overhead lights went out

23

“THROW HIM THE ROPE,” Kurt called

He, Akiko and Kashihts Akiko had a long nylon cord used to secure things to the catwalk She dropped one end over the side, allowing it to fall straight down It hit the canvas in the dark

“I hope he sees it,” she said “After that last hit, heclearly”

“If there’s anything harder than a diaht”

Kurt had seen Joe grasp the coin and look up He knew Joe would put it together

“Once he’s up here, you give me the antidote,” Kashimora said anxiously

“Not until we’re outside,” Kurt replied